We were placed at Mother Theresa's Missionary Charity Hospice called Prem Dam (not sure of spelling) for our two days of volunteering. The mornings were spent washing clothes in an assembly line dunking the clothes, ringing, dunking in the next station, ringing them out, then carrying the buckets full of clothes and bed sheets to the roofs to dry. We made beds, brushed hair, painted nails, and listened to them when they wanted something (not that we could understand). We helped serve lunch, feeding those who could not feed themselves, helped them to bed and then washed all the dishes. All the sister's and other staff would point at us and shout "Auntie! Auntie!" whenever they wanted us to do something. Most of the time we would be pointed in the general direction of something and were expected to understand what we were supposed to do. The language barrier was definitely a problem, even among volunteers as some were from Korea, Japan, China, and France (got to practice my high school french out woohoo). Despite that, however, it was a really rewarding experience and I would definitely come for longer next time. Both times leaving the house we grabbed rickshaws (somehow ending up with the same driver both times) stuffing about six of us into the small compartments and getting thrown from side to side as the driver swerved in tune with Barbie Girl by Aqualung (hence the title of this blog) with us girls singing on top of our lungs along the way. Needless to say we got a lot of stares.
Our first afternoon off we spent being tourists of Kolkata. We saw the Indian Museum (lots of fossils, rocks and animals), the Institute of Fine Arts (my favourite piece one of an Indian woman Andy Warhol style), the Victoria Memorial, and the Planetarium (no I didn't fall asleep I was just "resting my eyes" - that is a tribute to Grandma Devi for those who do not know as I definitely fell asleep...it had been a long day, ok).
Last night after a long day of volunteering we met up with Tim and Eli (friends of Ronit) and had dinner as they watched the third final cricket game (go Bangalore) and then went to sit on the roof of their hotel while they passed around a guitar playing any songs they new. One of the tourists staying there was a German couple with whom we all talked about music and other general topics. Ouvre (not sure of spelling) was so enthusiastic about music we asked if he played anything. His answer was perfect, "I not very good at playing instrument, but I am a professional listener. The world needs listeners too".
Note to all readers, be aware when entering your hotel room that on the wall you will not find just one light switch. No, you will find about 20 unmarked identical switches and will proceed to press each one eveyr time until you get a hang of which turns on the lights and the fan. You will then find that indian men will appear at your door offering their services, asking to do your laundry or whether you have eaten. No, you do not smell, and they are not worried about your health. Do not get irritated. You have simply been pressing the buzzer for help over and over and over.
Off to Darjeeling tomorrow to start our 7 day trek during which we are to see Everest and K2.
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